The 25-year-old, from Belgian club Royal Antwerp, spent more than a week on trial with the Alex, and impressed at time.

But Holland has now decided the Ghana-born player, who has had previous spells with Bordeaux and Club Brugge, does not fit the bill and will cast his net elsewhere.

He said: “We have decided against it. He is a good player but we didn’t think he would improve our starting XI.

“I have only one hit at getting a defender and I have to be sure. The deadline is a few days away but I must resist the temptation to just bring someone in for the sake of it. It has to be the right one.”

Meanwhile, left-back Billy Jones is back from injury and in contention for Saturday’s trip to Hereford, as is striker Calvin Zola and midfielder Eugen Bopp.